Kendal Town boss urges players to show their quality after shaky start to season

KENDAL Town boss Dave Foster has called on his players to stand up and be counted after picking up just one point in their opening two fixtures of the Evo Stik First Division North.

The Mintcakes defended well on Saturday to secure a goalless draw away at Northwich but fell to a 2-1 defeat at home to Padiham on Tuesday night.

And with games coming thick and fast, Foster admits the defeat to the Lancashire outfit was a shock to the system for some of his players and was left disappointed with the performance.

“I am looking for a response now from those who will stand up and show that they want to be here,” he said.

“It was a bit of rude awakening for one or two that this is what the league is about. We’ve got to make sure from the first minute we are at the races.

“It’s about getting back to basics, passing the ball from a to b and to the same colour shirt. A lot of their chances and opportunities in the first half were as a result of poor passing from us.

"If play continues to breakdown in transition areas it means your shape is wrong and it’s difficult to recover.

“It’s not doom and gloom and the end of the world but it’s just a little wake up call that this league isn’t easy.”

Rob Wilson opened the scoring for Kendal but two goals in eight minutes, including one from a free header from a corner, swung the tie in Padiham’s favour.

“Padiham probably deserved what they got,” said Foster. “They outworked us, got stuck in and I felt they deserved the win.

“Although we went one-up I thought we were sloppy in possession. It took until the 80th minute until it looked like we wanted to get on the ball and play. We were out-fought and out-battled so I was really disappointed.”

He added: “Somebody has lost their man at the corner and you can’t afford to go giving teams free headers from eight yards out.

“We still had enough time but you can’t just leave it until the 80th minute to decide whether you want to play. I just don’t think there was enough desire and energy.

“We worked some good opportunities and put lots of crosses in but didn’t have enough bodies in the box. That was indicative of a flat performance and I felt we looked leggy. Some of our passing just wasn’t up to the standards we set ourselves.”

The Mintcakes will be looking to pick up their first three points of the season on Saturday against Bamber Bridge before making the trip to Darlington on Bank Holiday Monday.